Aqua issues boil order for some Newlin residents

NEWLIN —Aqua America is telling some township residents who get service from their Embreeville well to boil their water through at least Thursday, Dec. 23 after a chlorination system this week.

A breakdown in the disinfection system at the Embreeville well in the Aqua Pennsylvania (Aqua) Spring Run Water System was discovered on Dec. 20. The chlorine feed was repaired and the required chlorine residual was recovered Dec. 20. This did not impact any of the other wells supplying the system. However, disinfection may have been impacted since Dec. 16, although none of the routine samples taken by Aqua had any unusually low residuals. As a precaution until bacteriological tests taken by Aqua are received, Aqua is urging customers to boil their water before using for consumption.

Here’s what the company is telling residents:

* DO NOT DRINK THE WATER WITHOUT BOILING IT FIRST. Bring all water to a boil, let it boil for one minute, and let it cool before using, or use bottled water. Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes, and food preparation until further notice. Boiling kills bacteria and other organisms in the water.

* E. coli are bacteria whose presence indicates that the water may be contaminated with human or animal wastes. Microbes in these wastes can cause diarrhea, cramps, nausea, headaches, or other symptoms. They may pose a special health risk for infants, young children, some of the elderly, and people with severely compromised immune systems.

* The symptoms above are not caused only by organisms in drinking water. If you experience any of these symptoms and they persist, you might want to seek medical advice. People at increased risk should seek advice about drinking water from their health care providers.

The company says a breakdown in the disinfection system at the Embreeville well in the Aqua Pennsylvania (Aqua) Spring Run Water System was discovered on December 20, 2010. The chlorine feed was repaired and the required chlorine residual was recovered Dec. 20.
Upon approval from state Department of Environmental Protection, we will inform you when you no longer need to boil your water. We anticipate resolving this problem by Thursday, Dec. 23.

General guidelines on ways to lessen the risk of infection by microbes are available from the EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1.800.426.4791.

Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (for example, people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses). You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail.